Lyell Wealth Management LP Grows Stake in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW)

Lyell Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) by 6.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,227 shares of the network technology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,620 shares during the period. Palo Alto Networks comprises approximately 2.4% of Lyell Wealth Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. Lyell Wealth Management LP’s holdings in Palo Alto Networks were worth $21,298,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Pacific Financial raised its stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 421.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 120 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. grew its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 607.1% in the fourth quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 99 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 87.0% during the fourth quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC now owns 101 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 277.8% during the 3rd quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the network technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 107 shares of the network technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.82% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on PANW shares. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $380.00 to $355.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Palo Alto Networks from $363.00 to $337.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Redburn Atlantic upped their target price on Palo Alto Networks from $275.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Palo Alto Networks from $274.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.82.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total value of $17,059,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 198,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,327,194.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total value of $294,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,629,160. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Lee Klarich sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.33, for a total transaction of $17,059,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 198,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,327,194.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 167,917 shares of company stock worth $49,395,553. Corporate insiders own 3.30% of the company’s stock.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

NASDAQ PANW traded up $0.33 on Wednesday, hitting $293.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,841,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,497,601. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $290.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.86. The company has a market capitalization of $94.93 billion, a PE ratio of 45.91, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 1.19. Palo Alto Networks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $176.30 and a 12-month high of $380.84.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The network technology company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.22. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 30.24% and a return on equity of 36.58%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Palo Alto Networks, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current year.

Palo Alto Networks Profile

Palo Alto Networks, Inc provides cybersecurity solutions worldwide. The company offers firewall appliances and software; and Panorama, a security management solution for the global control of network security platform as a virtual or a physical appliance. It also provides subscription services covering the areas of threat prevention, malware and persistent threat, URL filtering, laptop and mobile device protection, DNS security, Internet of Things security, SaaS security API, and SaaS security inline, as well as threat intelligence, and data loss prevention.